The Christian response to tahrīf and related issues : an annotated bibliography of Near-East primary sources from the seventh to ninth centuries

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Arab Christian response to the Islamic accusation of tahrīf, from the seventh through the ninth centuries. Through the evaluation of primary and secondary sources concerning this time period, the types of responses, both polemic and apologetic, will be classified and compared in the historical, political and regional context in which they were written. Related issues to the notion will also be discussed, including defining tahrīf, presenting the historical development of the issue, and setting the historical and literary background to the debate. This research is unique in the field of Christian-Muslim relations, as it comprehensively addresses the Christian Arab response to tahrīf, rather than simply dealing with the Islamic notion itself. This study will show the variety and scope of the creative responses to this troubling issue, and the key players in the debate. It will recall a time when Christians and Muslims could openly debate using their respective scriptures, before the uncompromising interpretation of tahrīf as textual corruption became a dominant voice in the debate in the eleventh century.